Shoto was having difficulty tracking down the boy in the green. He'd spotted him soon enough, but then he'd lost him in the streets, and then the woods. He didn't know this, but that was because Deku was also lost. His map wasn't detailed enough to help him navigate the trees, and all he knew was he was blindly moving closer to or farther from the edge. Shoto was still looking for him when he finally came to a clearer patch and could look at the stars. He was still going North. "How can one peasant be so hard to find?" He said to himself. He pulled out a map. "He can't have gone the other way, this is the most direct route out of this forest." He frowned. "Of course, this is an old map. Maybe the Dark Lands have changed the terrain..."
Just then, he thought he sensed something. An animal moving, a squirrel maybe? He turned just in time to find a sword pointing at his throat. He looked up scowling-- then his expression changed into surprise.

{Art by Julianna Gardner]

At the other end of the sword was a girl no older than himself, wearing armor, and looking at him with determination. The sight shocked him enough to make him slow to react, but then he frowned. "Who are you?" "That's not important," the girl answered, not sounding quite as confident as she looked. "You match the description... are you the one looking for a traveler going to the Dark Lands?"
Shoto became suspicious. "How did you know that?" "That's also not important," The girl said.
Shoto became more suspicious. "Did my father send you? Is that what this is? Really, sending a girl after me, that's a new low for him, but I suppose it doesn't matter."
He stepped back quickly, and drew his own sword. "I'm not going with you." "No, that's not what I want," The girl protested. "I just want answers."
"You're not getting anything out of me," Shoto replied. "I'll give you one chance to run and pretend this never happened, otherwise, I won't hesitate."
The girl didn't look in the least bit intimidated. "If that's how you want it, but I need information, even if I have to force it from you, I hoped it wouldn't come to this."
Shoto raised his sword. But she took the first swing--much faster and stronger than he expected, clearly this wasn't any novice. After a few rounds of testing each other, he concluded she wasn't using a style familiar to him either. "Where are you from?" he asked finally. "It doesn't matter," she replied, breathing hard. "You're not bad, though."

They kept going, Shoto began to think he wasn't going to be able to beat her, she was actually more skilled than him, but he had a plan for that. He managed to put some distance between them, then he touched his wrist guard and spoke "Cold."
The wristguard uncoiled from his wrist and stretched out into a long white dragon. The girl stared at it.
"A mage after all," she said. Shoto snapped his fingers, the dragon blew icy breath toward the girl's feet, but she vaulted over it (where did she get a spear?) and stabbed it in the back. Shoto winced. The dragon snarled at her.

[Concept art by Onerose]

She landed on her feet, skidding. "Now!" She yelled at someone. Shoto wasn't sure what to expect but the piercing sound that followed wasn't it. He covered his ears, and the dragon shuddered and shattered into ice. The pieces reformed into his wristguard. Whoever this was had just broken through his defense with ease. Another girl appeared out of the woods, holding up her hands. "Surrender now," she called. Shoto frowned. "You think that's all I've got?" He touched his left wristband. "Hot." It formed into a red dragon.
"Two of them?" The second girl said.
"Watch out!" The first already had a shield, so she'd figured it out. The dragon blew out a tongue of flame, the first girl dashed in front of the other and blocked it with her shield. They both scrambled back.
"Fire! In the Woods!" the second one said.
She had a point, he'd better be careful.
"An elemental mage," the first girl said to the other. "The simplest to fight. Don't worry."
"I'm not worried," the second said.
The first one ducked behind a tree, clever, using it for cover, he couldn't risk setting it on fire. The ice dragon was much better for this terrain, he knew. Still, any dragon was dangerous. It slithered toward them. The second girl dashed around behind it, leaping over its tail and tucking and rolling behind a different tree. Then she held out her wrist and snapped her fingers. A sonic wave went out, slamming the dragon in the side. It looked a little dizzy. The first girl threw something--a weighted net, the dragon was pinned down. Then they both came out. "Surrender?" The first one said.
Shoto held up his sword. "I don't surrender."
"So pig-headed," the second girl complained.
Shoto smirked. The dragon suddenly popped out of the net and knocked both girls off their feet with its tail, then it pinned them down, they kicked at it furiously, but it grew to be a much larger size. The first one struggled furiously, a spear appeared in her hands, ready to stab it from below. Shoto got ready--but just when this all looked like it was going to get ugly, a voice cried "Hey! Stop!"
They all froze. Then they looked towards the woods. The small blonde haired bard from the tavern was panting and leaning on a tree. "Wait, all of you. Maybe we can settle this non-violently, huh?" His words seemed reasonable. Shoto lowered his sword.
"All right," he said.
"What?" the second girl cried, she kicked the dragon off, it now wasn't trying to pin her.
"Nice dragon..." the bard said carefully, holding out its hand. The dragon put its head down like a dog and seemed disinclined to fight any more.
"You...?" the fist girl looked puzzled. "Why are you here?"
"Well, I... uh, think there might have been a slight misunderstanding..." the bard said guiltily. "I may have kind of given you the wrong idea about this fellow to try to scare you, but I don't think he's actually a bad sort--" he didn't get any further, the second girl ran up and slammed him into the tree.
"You lied to us! I knew it! I knew we couldn't trust a bard! Let's kill him, Princess. We'd be a lot safer."
"Kill me?!" the bard choked. "Princess?" Shoto said oddly. The first girl looked embarrassed. "I... think we may have been given false information... I apologize, we shouldn't have attacked you without being certain. Kyoka! Don't kill him."
"Why not?" the other girl snapped. "It wouldn't be right without giving him a chance to defend himself first," said the first girl. Kyoka sighed.
"All right," she stepped back. "Ward yourself, bard." "What? Are you mad!?" the bard demanded.
"Isn't that a little much?" Shoto spoke. "He came to set things right. Is this how you reward people who change their mind?"
The first girl tilted her head. "He may have a point."
"He lied to us!" Kyoka said. "That's a crime of the highest order! It wasn't even for a good reason!"
"Well you didn't pay me!" the bard snapped. "And you twisted my arm, literally! You weren't exactly the most nice people ever. And it's not like I knew she was a princess."
"If he didn't know perhaps we can't hold him responsible," The first said. "And, now that we've talked about it, I really don't have the stomach to kill him."
"If you say so, my lady," Kyoka said very reluctantly. She stepped back. "But get out of our sight."
A bird cawed at them suddenly. "Not you," Kyoka grumbled.
"I think he found something." The first held out her hand and a tracking falcon landed on her arm. "Did you find someone else in the woods?" The falcon made a sound again.
"Could be an enemy," said Kyoka.
"Or it could be the man I'm looking for," Shoto held up a hand. "Are you trying to kill him?"
"What? No," Kyoka said. "Who are you looking for?"
"I can explain..." the bard said sheepishly. They all looked at him.
"Please, proceed," Shoto said coolly.

After Denki had introduced himself and explained how the whole confusion had happened, Kyoka wanted to pummel him, but the Princess, who finally introduced herself as Momo, was far more understanding. Shoto was just annoyed at being delayed over something so stupid.
"I had good intentions," Denki said weakly. "I got a little worried about the fellow wandering around alone."
"If he knows about the Dark Lands, I'd still like to ask him." Shoto said. The falcon stirred.
"In any case, we should find him." Momo said. "He's probably lost, if he is as much of a novice as you say." "Why did he decide to leave without talking to me?" Shoto asked Denki.
"Oh... I think the whole thing was kind of a secret," Denki explained. "You know, that part I mentioned before...but you seem like an all right sort of person, he's just being cautious."
Shoto looked at him strangely. "Why would it be a secret? It's not that uncommon."
"I don't know, ask him," Denki grumbled. "Very well, I guess I will have to," Shoto said.
"Oh...crap..." Denki muttered. The falcon took off.
"Sight will lead us to him," Momo said. "But I suggest we be ready for anything, who knows what we might find in this forest."